South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young stated on Monday that there is merit to the claim that Kim Jong Un, the General Secretary of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, may have recently sent a personal letter to President Donald Trump.
Minister Chung made these remarks during the 2026 International Korean Peninsula Forum held at the Bank Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul. He referenced President Trump’s recent post on Truth Social, where he shared a photo from the 2018 North Korea-U.S. summit in Singapore with General Secretary Kim.
Chung attributed this interpretation to Professor Lee Jeong-cheol from Seoul National University. According to Lee, Trump’s social media post could be a response to a birthday greeting letter from Kim.
Minister Chung expressed hope for renewed North Korea-U.S. contact and dialogue, stating that it aspires to see communication channels reopen. The Hanoi summit on February 28, 2019, represented a policy failure for the U.S. regarding the Korean Peninsula, for North Korea’s approach to the U.S., and for our government’s role as mediator. He continued that reflecting on these past missteps, it must recommit ourselves to not failing in future opportunities that may arise concerning the Korean Peninsula.